The Photograph That Caused It All
by MariaTS
Summary: Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase were walking near the Stark Towers, when a monster attacked. One photograph will rock their world when SHIELD catches drift of it. CURRENTLY BEING UPDATED
1. midday meanders & pesky paparazzi

TIMELINE  
-PJO  
-Avengers  
-HOO  
-This story

Chapter 1:

It all started when Rachel Elizabeth Dare had convinced me to go outside. Annabeth and I had been cooped up in my cabin for a couple days (I know, I know — nothing happened - I swear!). We needed comfort from each other, as the Tartarus and Gaea flashbacks had been consuming our days and nights. Aside from the nightmares, and general terribleness - it was quite peaceful though, with no one to bother us. That is until Rachel came knocking.

"It's not healthy to be cooped up for too long. You guys need fresh air pronto." She demanded, and long story short - there I was walking with Annabeth along Manhattan. Nearby, the Stark towers were visible, but Annabeth was unusually quiet. Normally, she would have been rambling about the architecture - something I would have pretended to understand. But she was tired, and I was tired - physically, mentally, and emotionally. So we walked in comfortable silence, her hand enclosed in mine. The day was beautiful - the sun shining brightly, and a cool breeze in the air. Everything seemed as perfect as it could possibly be under the circumstances.

"Stark! Tony Stark! Over here Tony Stark!" Paparazzi swarmed around a dark haired man with sunglasses. He just waved good-naturedly, and flashed a dazzling smile that would blind even Apollo.

"Ah the papparzo, no time today guys. Excuse me, excuse me." He slipped into a dark car, and then just as soon as he had appeared, he was gone. Most of the paparazzi left while muttering dejectedly, but a couple decided to stick around just in case he came back.

"Tony Stark - Leo would have been -", I cut off in the middle of my sentence. The war had been only two months ago. Leo's absence still loomed heavily on the camp, and our lives. It still hurt everyday not hearing his stupid jokes. Annabeth squeezed my hand.

"Leo would have been so excited." She finished for me. As I casually pulled her into a hug, she tensed.

"Monster. On your 11 o'clock." She pulled her drakon bone sword out of her bag, as I whirled around and uncapped riptide. The monster looked to be some sort of nasty-looking hellhound-telekhine mix. I mean really, talk about a face only your mother could love.

Annabeth and I lunged to opposite sides as the monster bounded forward. Annabeth dive-rolled underneath the monster as I vaulted over it, us both stabbing it at the same time. Gold monster dust rained down on us. As I was shaking it out of my hair, I heard the shutter of a camera.

"Click click." Too late I realised that the paparazzi were still there. Before I could react, Annabeth was grabbing my hand and pulling me around the corner, down the street, and into the nearest alley.

"Crap!" Annabeth hissed. They had gotten photographs of us, and who knew what the mist had made us look like. With our luck, the headlines of the New York Times tomorrow would read "TWO KIDS KILL INNOCENT DOG" or something like that.

"I thought they would have left by then. I mean really… don't they have anything better to do with their lives?" I muttered.

"We need to get back to camp. Now." Annabeth told me. She quickly ducked her head out of the entrance of the alley, scanning for any photographers.

"All clear." I handed Annabeth my jacket, and she pulled the hoodie over her head.

"We can go to see my mom. She lives near here anyway." I looked over at Annabeth as she nodded solemnly. Leave it to Tony Stark to ruin our day, and possibly put us on the Government's watch list, all by stepping out of Stark Towers.


	2. nerve-wracking news & cross campers

It was the next morning when we arrived back at camp. We had decided to wait the night out at my parent's apartment - just in case some crazy reporter was lurking about. Luckily we hadn't seen any newspapers about us - yet.

"Chiron… we need to tell you something." Annabeth started nervously. She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. Sensing her hesitance, I stepped forward and explained what had happened. He seemed to age in the short time it took for me to explain. His eyes darkened, and his shoulders sloped like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders - which I suppose he did.

"I knew this would happen one day, but like so many other things that have happened recently, I didn't think it would be so soon. We need to alert the other cabins leaders. Call a meeting immediately." As Chiron glanced at us sorrowfully, I started to realize the full extent of what had happened. If this got out, demigods would be at risk. All of the Greek, and by extension, Roman and Egyptian gods could be forced out into the open. We would never have a moment of peace again.

Twenty minutes later, and with a jar of Peanut Butter (curtesy of the Stoll brothers), all of the head counsellors were gathered at the ping pong table, along with Rachel. Frank, Hazel, and Reyna were projected in the shimmering rainbow of an Iris Message at the head of the table. This was important enough to include both camp leaders (and of course Hazel). Chiron loomed in the corner looking at all of us mournfully. After Annabeth and I explained the circumstances in which we were gathered, immediate chaos broke out.

"How could you be so stupid?"

"Do you know what this means for us?"

"Of course it would be you two to cause the downfall of the demigod race!"

"You met Tony Stark?!"

Chiron pounded his hooves against the wood floor, "Silence children! We mustn't loose our heads about this. I discussed with the Gods. Thor is an ally of ours. He will keep our secret, if he is as wise as his father." He looked around as if daring us to object.

With no one willing to, he continued on, "The Gods have powers strong enough to get us to see inside SHIELD headquarters, albeit momentarily. SHIELD has magic trackers, and will soon enough realize what is going on - if Thor hasn't already. Circe has kindly enough, gotten us this video track from earlier. I believe that you all should see it." Chiron summoned Butch from the Iris cabin to create a rainbow, and threw a drachma in. Almost instantly, a scene appeared.

The Avengers (minus the Hulk guy) sat curiously around a rectangular table in one of the many SHIELD offices, as a man with an eye patch slammed two thin files down on the table.

"Perseus Jackson and Annabeth Chase. Both seventeen and currently gracing the cover of every news outlet available." A man with an eye-patch informed the team as they flipped through the files.

Tony Stark's eyes widened. "Holy shit! These kids can blow up just about anything!"

"How have they not been arrested for terrorism or something?" A guy with short cropped blonde hair asked sarcastically.

"And more importantly, what do they have to do with us? Surely the Avengers aren't needed to take out two teenagers." A woman with short red hair questioned.

"Paparazzi photographed them near Stark Towers yesterday, though there is controversy on what the picture is exactly of." A brown haired woman with a badge that said 'Agent Hill' pulled up a high definition picture onto the screen in the front of the room. The photo was a clear image of Annabeth and I with our swords, fighting the monster yesterday.

"Tell me… what do you see in this photo?" Nick Fury asked the Avengers.

"Two crazy-ass teenagers trying to kill a dog/ sea animal thing with swords. I mean swords? Come on. This isn't the Medieval Times." Tony Stark commented, as the rest of the team nodded in agreement. Agent Hill and eye-patch dude glanced knowingly at each other.

"Why? What has everyone else been seeing?" Steve asked.

"Thor - you have been awfully quiet. Care to share your take on this picture?" eye-patch dude stared accusingly at the Norse God.

"Alas, it is not my place to share, Nick Fury. But yes, I do indeed recognize these young warriors." Thor nodded solemnly.

"Warriors?" Nick Fury raised a brow.

"I have shared too much already, but indeed. They are brave warriors." He told them.

"Find them. Bring them in for questioning, but go for the friendly tactic first. Be wary. They are dangerous." Agent Hill instructed them, "I would suggest starting by looking at Perseus's parents house. They live near Stark Towers." As soon as it had appeared, the iris message dissolved.

Again, talking burst out. Piper and Jason tried their best to calm down their side of the table, but only Piper's Charmspeak had any effect. I didn't really pay attention as I realized what they were talking about - my parents. They were going to target my parents to get to Annabeth and I. Sure you can mess with Annabeth and me, but brining in my parents was another story. They weren't equipped to handle this life. My blood boiled. I was ready to take down these SHIELD people. No one messed with my family - demigod or mortal.

Chiron pounded his hooves against the floor.

"As you may now realize, we are in danger. Do not blame Percy and Annabeth though. It was bound to happen sooner or later. It is better we deal with this now. Percy and Annabeth, go call Sally and Paul. Prepare them for what is to come. As for the rest of you… remain calm. No one leaves camp until this is sorted. You may return to your activities. I will update you all as soon as new developments have been made. Oh, and kindly, keep this to yourselves. We mustn't cause unnecessary panic." Scraping of metal chairs sounded as almost everyone left. Piper, Jason, and Rachel stayed.

"SHIELD is a high end organization Chiron. My dad introduced me to Tony Stark and he has loads of money, and loves nothing more than solving a puzzle. This is bigger than what you think." Rachel warned us.

"Yeah… Tony Stark is crazy. My dad and I met him once at a Gala. He was drunk and rambling about SHIELD. I'll spare you the details, but it wasn't good. He ended up being dragged out by an official." Piper added as she tugged on her braids. Her kaleidoscope eyes glittered worriedly. Chiron sighed heavily.

"Alas, we know. This isn't our first run in with them." Chiron told us. Reyna and Frank glanced at each other.

"This is dangerous. Very dangerous." Reyna muttered to herself. Warily, she looked up. "No one will leave our camp until this is solved."

"We trust you guys, so just keep us updated. We will do our best down here." Frank sighed wrapped an arm around Hazel. I hated how they all looked so defeated. If only I had been faster realizing the monster was there, or something.

"Keep your parents safe Percy." Hazel told me, "And all of you stay safe." She added after.

"Keep an eye on the legion there. Pipes and I are gonna stay here until this is sorted out." Jason explained. Reyna nodded, as Frank and Hazel said they swiped through the Iris message and were gone.

"Hold on. Things are about to get bumpy." I muttered.


	3. pissy percy & dreadful developments

To say the least - I was pissed. Word had gotten around at camp about why we were on lockdown. Of course someone just had to let slip the reason the whole demigod race was in danger - and of course Annabeth and I had caused it. Since it was almost the end of summer, most of us were supposed to go back to our families to start school. Because of the whole Tony Stark Fiasco, no one was allowed to leave. Chiron's office had been visited so many times that he had to tell everyone the truth, and as a result, the whole camp was mad at Annabeth and I.

I had already called my mom and step-dad to warn them about possible SHIELD agents visiting them. My mom had taken the news worriedly, but Paul had taken it in stride. We decided they couldn't leave town because that would be suspicious, but they would stay out of the house as long as possible. That way it would be harder to track them down. Annabeth had shut down her phone, so it couldn't be traced. Instead, we promised to IM every night.

I was updating Annabeth about my parents and my agreement as we sat on one of the bunkbeds in my cabin. She looked good with her hair pulled up in a messy bun. She was wearing sweatpants and her camp half-blood shirt. Annabeth sat crisscrossed, palming her necklace, a deep frown graced her face. I had to resist the urge to smooth out the creases in her forehead.

"This is dangerous Percy. Really dangerous." She looked at me concerned. I sighed.

"I know Annabeth."

"No… seriously Percy. I've been thinking -"

"That's nothing new."

She shot me a sharp glance, and continued, "No… really Percy. I don't think we can wait this one out. That may have worked in the past, but not now. We probably have been on SHIELD's radar for a while with all of our bad publicity from our earlier quests. I don't know. They think we're terrorists… and you know what they do to terrorists." Annabeth stood up, and reached up to close the blinds. As she stretched, her shirt rode up a bit, revealing a long pink scar. A tartarus scar. Guilt seared through my veins.

"Annabeth. I messed up." I ruffled my hair, and put my head in my hands. This was all my fault. Only one month after the giant war, and now we had to deal with this too. Just our luck.

"Percy… both of us did. If only we'd seen them sooner. " Annabeth started.

"Yeah… yeah… okay." I muttered to calm her. I didn't agree with what I was saying though. I knew that it was my bad reputation that made the situation ten times worse.

Annabeth stared at me for a second, and her eyebrows furrowed.

"Gods Percy! I know what you're thinking. Stop with the hero complex! Not everything is on you! Okay? This was my fault too. I should have thought of the photographers too. We both messed up. Both of us." Annabeth chastised me. I probably would have said something snarky back, but there was a sharp knock on the cabin door.

"Everything okay in here? I could hear yelling." Jason called through the door. Annabeth huffed and sat on the bunkbed opposite of mine.

"Yeah. Fine." She called. You could practically hear Jason's disapproval through the door, but I guess he decided to let it be.

"Piper, Nico, Rachel, and I were gonna go sit by the beach. Wanna join?" Jason shouted. Annabeth wouldn't meet my eyes. I didn't really feel like hanging out with everyone, but the beach always made me feel better.

"Sure. Meet you down there in a few." I flopped back on the bed and sighed heavily, "Time to socialize."

* * *

"How was talking to your mom Percy?" Rachel twirled a red curl around her finger and popped her gum.

"Good. She -" A shimmering rainbow appeared with Reyna standing rigid in the middle.

"Reyna!" Rachel called out. Reyna looked as impeccable as ever, but something was off about her. She looked too calm, almost like she was trying to keep a mask in place. I could tell there was a storm brewing.

Piper and Jason shared a grave look. That was when I realized the gravity of the situation.

Something had gone very wrong.

"What's happened?" Jason asked. A flash of desperation shone in Reyna's eyes.

"It's Hazel. She was at the stables and -" Nico paled.

"What happened?" He demanded. His shoulders were so tense that he reminded me lion getting ready to pounce.

"A pack of wild dogs. They attacked her. We don't know where they came from, and how they got into camp. We've had patrols around since The Incident, so it shouldn't be possible for them to enter."

Annabeth's stormy eyes met mine. Jason put his head in his hands, while Piper and Rachel looked worriedly at each other. Meanwhile, Nico looked like he had his worst fears confirmed.

"Where is she?" Nico asked desperately.

"With Frank. Our healers are helping her. She'll be alright soon enough. I'm afraid this situation is more than it appears. The stable doors were locked from the inside, and Hazel certainly wouldn't lock herself in. Plus, someone had to have summoned the dogs." Reyna's eyebrows furrowed slightly, "There are so many factors that just don't add up."

"Do you think this is connected to the whole SHIELD situation?" Rachel asked.

Simultaneously Nico, Annabeth, and Reyna said, "No."

Nico sighed, "I had a nightmare last night. I told Will, and we called Hazel earlier. She was fine, so I brushed it off. It wasn't SHIELD though. The details were hazy, but I could tell that much."

"Nico's right. SHIELD wouldn't attack without knowing the full range of the situation. Also, they wouldn't send dogs to attack Hazel. I don't even think they have Hazel on their radar." Annabeth reasoned.

"No this isn't SHIELD. This is something else entirely." Reyna's eyes were cold and unforgiving.

I was right about her calm hiding a storm. This was bad. Really bad. And the dog attack was just the beginning.


	4. disembodied demons & hopeful hugs

"Hi mom." I greeted my mom. She sat next to Paul - her husband. I liked Paul. He was smart, kind, and most of all - he made my mom happy. Also, one bonus from having a teacher step-dad was that he could help me out in classes and sometimes get me out of punishments. He was going to help me and Annabeth register for the school he taught at in the fall, but with the Giant War and PTSD, we decided to take a gap year. Though that's beside the point.

"Hey Honey." My mom smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. I could tell she was trying her best to be strong for me. I felt bad. She had to be tough for me far too many times in her life. I mean with Smelly Gabe, me getting kicked out of almost every school I went to, me going on quests like every other month, and her only child disappearing, she had to have gone to hell and back emotionally.

"SHIELD visited." Paul announced. My somewhat-good spirits immediately dropped. I knew this was going to come since it had been almost a week since The Incident, but that didn't mean I had to dread it any less. Paul, though, didn't seem as concerned as my mother. Then again, he had adjusted to the Half-Blood life pretty quickly.

"Yes. They were very nice." My mom assured me. I guess I looked as grim as I felt.

"I believe there was a blonde guy, and a red-headed lady." She continued on.

"Ah yes. Natalie Rushmore, and Clark Berry." Paul grinned at the memory.

"Clark Berry was quick-witted. I liked him a lot. Natalie was intelligent. You could tell." Paul acted as if he was talking about some old college buddies, and not trained assassins coming after the whole Demigod race.

"Paul, sweetie, _try_ remember that they are hunting Percy and his friends." My mom chastised.

Paul frowned, "Oh yes. I'm quite aware. Both were in tip-top shape, and intelligent - real threats."

I groaned, "Just great."

"Honey, they _are_ SHIELD agents." My mom reminded me.

"Well, what did they say?"

"Oh Percy. Paul and I don't nearly have as good of a memory as you." My mom smiled sadly. Guiltily, I did notice that her hair was almost fully grey now.

"Please. Just try to remember." I begged. This was important. One detail could mean the world.

"Hmmmm… Oh! I almost forgot!" Paul exclaimed. He jumped up and started searching around one of the closets near the kitchen. The door was slightly ajar, but inside of it looked normal - with towels and that kind of stuff. I didn't understand his sudden need for cleaning supplies.

"What's up Paul?" I raised my eyebrows in question. Paul stopped abruptly as he realized we had no idea what he was talking about.

"I recorded their interview…" he continued on as he turned back around, "and the thing is around here somewhere. I swear I put it here." I threw my hands in the air in celebration.

"Paul! You are a freaking genius!" I exclaimed.

"Well… I don't know about genius. It was recorded on an old baby monitor that was specialized to record things. I got for my baby niece a while ago… got it!" Paul grinned in triumph. He held up a slightly dirty gray camera. It had been hidden underneath one of the hand towels. My appreciation for him increased ten-fold.

"The feed is connected to my work computer. Does Chiron have a computer? I could send the video to him. He has an email right? I mean even immortal centaurs have to have some form of modern communication." Paul's face looked so downright puzzled, that under other circumstances I probably would've laughed.

"He does have an old computer, and he probably has an email, but I don't know it. Just send it to Annabeth's…" I trailed off remembering Daedalus's laptop. That was just one of the things lost in Tartarus. For a second I froze remembering that hell hole. The smell of the salt-water spring in my cabin turned into the rotten scent of sulfur. My parents transformed into the Curses. My cabin morphed into the treacherous slopes of Tartarus. The bunkbeds behind me became the Phlegethon. My heart started beating out of my chest. My palms started to sweat and gods, I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was going to pass out.

Then as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. I returned to my cabin, with the saltwater spring in the corner, and the minotaur horn on the wall. I was still sitting on my bed, with riptide in my pocket. Everything as I left it. My parents were still Iris Messaging me, their apartment the same as it was. Everything was normal… except me.

"Percy, sweetie, are you ok? What's wrong?" My mom stared at me. I couldn't stand to see the concern on her face. It just reminded me of the pain I always inflicted on everyone else.

"Hey Percy? Are you alright?" Paul returned to the table and glanced nervously at my mom. I stared at my hands. There were scars criss-crossing my knuckles that were thick and red. I couldn't look at them anymore, so I flipped my hands over. More scars and bruises marred my palms and fingers. Angrily I clenched my fists, and tried to ignore the wetness in my eyes.

"Yeah. Fine. Please just send the video to Annabeth's email account. It should be on her school registration form." I choked the words out.

"Percy. Please. Talk to us." My mom begged. I didn't want to hear her beg. And I most certainly didn't want to talk to her about my feelings.

"Please just send the video. I'll talk to you later."

"Percy…"

"Just send the video! Okay?! I don't want to talk!" I yelled. My anger flared, and I just snapped. I flinched as I saw my mom recoil.

"I'm sorry…" I whispered desperately, "Please just send the video. I'm sorry." I waved my hand through the iris message and stared at the air where my parents images used to be for a couple of minutes. I felt guilty for upsetting my mom and Paul. Tears blurred my vision, and I bit back a sob. I didn't feel like myself anymore. Snapping at people for no reason, nightmares and flashbacks and visions plaguing me. I wanted Annabeth, but I didn't have the energy to go and get her. Plus, I had been bugging her all week. She probably was irritated with me already.

Trembling I picked myself out of bed, and examined myself in the mirror. I looked terrible. My eyes were red and puffy with bags the size of marshmallows. My hair was messy (but not the good kind). I looked thin and frail with scars everywhere. It was a wonder Will Solace (who had decided to be the Seven's personal nurses) hadn't confined me to the infirmary. As much as I didn't want to go out and socialize, I couldn't stay in this cabin any longer.

* * *

Somehow, Riptide seemed to always make me feel safer. The irony was that the sword was only needed in times of danger. Yet, as I swung my sword at the straw target, I could feel the tension in my muscles release. Every swing pushed another worry away and grounded me.

 _Swing._

I'm here.

 _Swing._

I'm flesh and bones.

 _Swing._

I'm real.

Sweat poured off of my body, but I didn't bother to stop and wipe it away. All I knew was that I needed to keep swinging. Soon though, I couldn't breathe. Tartarus had taken a lot of my strength, and I was still rebuilding it.

Slowly, I sat down on a bench in the corner. I capped Riptide, and picked up a water bottle. Shallow breaths wracked my body as I gasped for air. Shakily, I lifted the bottle to my mouth and guzzled the water. It felt good to sit there - alone.

"Its only a matter of time." A voice whispered. I whipped around to search for the body that went with the voice, but there was no one else in the arena. I couldn't have dreamed the voice - no… it sounded way too real.

Warily, I decided to go tell Annabeth.

* * *

When I arrived at the Athena Cabin, I found Mitchell sitting on the steps.

"Enter if you dare." He said lifelessly. He looked warily up at me.

"What do you mean?" I questioned. I liked Mitchell. He was only of the only campers outside of Rachel, Will, Nico, Annabeth, Piper, and Jason who didn't treat me like I was a glass figurine waiting to be shattered. Thalia and Grover had started visiting more, and I suspected it was to check up on me and Annabeth. Even the Stoll brothers didn't prank me anymore (although to be honest I was glad about that). Reyna, Hazel, and Frank I had only talked to a few times, as they were busy with Praetor-ing duty, so Mitchell was one of the few I was actually likely to enjoy talking to.

"Annabeth's in a mood. She's been on edge and hasn't even eaten breakfast or lunch today." He sighed, exasperated, "I don't know what to do. I've haven't seen her like this since you disappeared. No offense. I tried to talk to her, but it's like she's not even there." If it was possible to feel any worse, this made me.

"Crap." I ran my hands through my hair, agitated.

"Dude it's not your fault. I mean, you look pretty worn down too." Mitchell stood up, and patted me on the back.

"Don't beat yourself up." His words didn't make me feel any better. If anything they made me feel guiltier. I should have been there for her.

Quickly, I pushed the cabin door open. Annabeth was in the corner sitting on the ground, books surrounding her. Her hair looked like it hadn't been brushed, her face was puffy, and her eyes were blood shot. If it was possible, she looked even frailer than yesterday.

"Annabeth, how bad is it?" I asked her. She glanced up at me, dazed. We had invented a system for how bad our feelings were on a scale from one to ten. One was just slightly bad, five was a panic attack, and ten was either suicidal thoughts, one of us died in a dream, or something to that extent. Ten was used way more often than I would have liked to admit.

"Six." She mumbled. I sat down and scooted her closer to me. She laced our fingers together. We clung to each other like we needed each other to breathe… which I suppose we did.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I gently asked her. She shook her head, so we sat interlocked. This lasted for who knows how long, until she finally spoke.

"I hate it."

"Hate what?" I urged her to continue talking.

"Feeling useless." She looked me in the eyes. It pained me to see how dull they were.

"You aren't."

"I am. I can't do anything for Hazel. I can't do anything for you. I can't do anything to fix this whole SHIELD thing. I've tried Percy. All day I've been looking for the answer in these books. Nothing. I've found nothing." She leaned her head on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry I can't fix this Percy." She whispered.

"Don't be. Not one of us can fix this Annabeth. All of us have to work together. Don't worry about Hazel. She's strong, and they have a good set of healers at Camp Jupiter." I paused and looked down at her. "And Annabeth. You can't fix me. No one can. You can help, but ultimately, I have to do this on my own. And so do you. But we can be here for each other. We can help each other by just being there." I kissed her on the cheek, and laid my head on top of hers again.

"Thanks Percy." She whispered.

"For what?" I asked.

"For everything." She mumbled, as her eyelids drooped and she fell asleep. For a moment everything was okay. With each other we felt safe, so I decided to tell her about the video and the voice when she woke up. Maybe, just maybe, for the first time in a while, we could get a good night's rest.


	5. interesting introductions & ugly updates

"A disembodied voice, Percy?" Chiron sounded more concerned than doubtful - something I was thankful for.

"Yes. It said, 'Its only a matter of time'." I told the centaur. Annabeth stood next to me, ready to swoop in if I got tongue-tied.

Chiron paced in his office, "A disembodied voice is warning us… but warning us about what? What is 'only a matter of time'?"

"Your guess is as good as ours." I huffed. Was it referencing another Hazel-type attack? Or SHIELD finding us? Or the probability of another camp-wide prank courtesy of the Stoll Brothers?

"We must tell Reyna and Frank - no one else. We mustn't have anymore hysteria." Chiron said grimly, "Bring in the cabin heads to watch Mr. Blofis' video."

At that, Annabeth and I interlocked hands and headed out to gather everyone.

* * *

All of the cabin leaders were piled around the living room of the big house. There was a nervous tension in the room. Chiron's ancient-looking laptop was attached to a make-shift projector that the Hephaestus cabin made. A sheet from one of the infinite rooms in the Big House was hung over Seymour, Mr. D's leopard head. Annabeth sighed as she pulled up the video of the interview to play. Chiron watched her in the corner, his brown eyes were dark with dark circles underneath them. This would be Chiron, Annabeth, and I's 100th-sh time watching the video, but this would be the first for the rest of the people in attendance.

With a loud thump, Paul's face came into view as he adjusted the baby monitor. The corner of the screen was covered by a dark-brown towel, but other than that, the apartment came in crystal clear. A sharp knock sounded.

"Paul, Honey? Will you get that?" My mom's voice, masked with calm, sounded from one of the other rooms. Since our apartment was relatively cheap, the walls were not soundproof. My mom was smart. She recognized that whoever was at the door could probably hear her, so she had to act natural.

Paul nervously wiped his palms on his jeans.

"Were you expecting someone, Dear?" Paul called across the apartment. He glanced anxiously at the door.

"No, Paul. Its probably Hazel." Annabeth had told me to tell my parents to use Hazel's name as a code word for the SHIELD agents who would be coming. Since Hazel died (or went missing depending on the reports) in the 1940's, they wouldn't suspect her, where they might if she said Annabeth or my name.

Paul nodded in understanding, and glanced at his baby monitor to make sure it was hidden properly. He wiped his hands again, and crossed over to the door. He took a deep breath, and opened the door. A beautiful red-headed lady stood side by side an attractive blonde-haired man with dark shades on.

"Is this the residence of Sally Jackson-Blofis and Paul Blofis?" The woman asked. She had a deep, husky voice, and talked with a reserved politeness.

Paul raised his eyebrows as he answered, "Yes it is. May I ask who you are, and why you are here?"

The blonde man pulled an ID out of his pocket, as my Mom walked over.

"We are with SHIELD. The Strategic Homeland Intervention - Enforcement and Logistic Division." He told Paul and my Mom.

"That's a mouthful." Paul chuckled nervously.

The blonde man laughed. "Clearly they just wanted to spell SHIELD. I'm Clark Berry." Clark offered his hand to each of my parents, and they shook hands.

"And I'm Natalie Rushmore." She introduced herself, and also extended her hand.

"I'm afraid we need to ask the pair of you some questions." Natalie frowned ever so slightly, to make it look like this was the biggest inconvenience in the world. My mom frowned, but nodded.

"Ok. May I ask what this is about though?" She asked the agents.

"Your son and Annabeth Chase. They are under suspicion right now. I believe you know about the picture of them?" Natalie questioned. My Mom sighed.

"Oh yes. That picture has been causing us quite the hassle." Natalie gave her a sympathetic look.

"Do you mind if we come in?" She asked. My Mom glanced nervously at Paul, but he gave her a warning that said - stay cool. My Mom nodded, and gave them a warm smile. They led the two agents to the kitchen table. The agents sat across from them.

"Do you want anything to eat or drink?" My mom asked.

Clark took off his glasses, "Water would be great." He replied as Natalie nodded.

Clark and Paul made small-talk as they waited for Sally. Soon she came back with the waters, and set them down.

"So what were you going to ask us?" My Mom asked.

Natalie nodded, and leaned forward. "Do you know where Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase are?" Sally and Paul nodded.

"Summer camp. We sent them away, as publicity was bugging them about this whole photo controversy." Paul told them. This was also part of our plan - bending the truth. They weren't good enough liars to fool SHIELD agents, so they would only tell part of the truth instead.

Natalie nodded, though she didn't look convinced.

Clark laughed, "One hell of a summer camp. We've been trying to track them down to question them. Its like they aren't on this earth. No cell phones, no social media, nothing!"

Sally cracked a small smile. "We can't really afford phone contracts for Percy. I can't speak for Annabeth and her family, but things have been tight around here. So Percy has never had a phone, and no, he doesn't have any social media accounts. He spends his time elsewhere." My face heated up slightly at the mention of my family not having enough money for a phone. I could feel faces on my neck. I guess they wouldn't expect that from someone with Poseidon as their dad. Its true money was tight with my Mom not having a job. Instead, she was taking college classes in the morning, and writing. We were basically living off of Paul's teaching money, which was not a lot, since he didn't have to teach during summer.

"Care to elaborate on Elsewhere?" Natalie questioned.

Paul intervened when my Mom froze a bit. "Camp, school, skate-boarding, being with Annabeth. Also, with his other friends. Oh, and video games. Him and Annabeth love a good Mario Kart game."

Clark grinned, "Who doesn't love a good Mario Kart game?" Him and Paul laughed like old buddies.

"So are Annabeth in him in a relationship then?" Natalie asked.

"Yes. Its been a little over a year now, I think. But they've been best friends since they were in middle school." My Mom told them. Natalie nodded.

"Were you with them when this photo was taken?" Clark pulled a photo out of his pocket (I swear there was infinite room in that thing).

"No. They were on a walk alone when that happened." Paul told them.

"Where were you then?" Natalie asked.

"Sally was here writing, and I was at the library preparing lessons for next school year. I'm a teacher." Paul supplied. Clark took a sip of water, and leaned back.

"Your son and his girlfriend are a bit of a mystery to us SHIELD agents." He said nonchalantly. Paul and my Mom looked surprised at each other.

"Yeah. They make the news a lot, and are never charged with anything. I mean there was that giant man-hunt when they were around 12 or 13. Also, there is barely any info on them. We have no information on Percy's biological father or Annabeth's biological mother. They have no social media accounts, no phones, and wherever they go, trouble follows. Also, there are time gaps, where it seems as if they have just fallen off of the face of the earth. Plus, Annabeth ran away when she was seven, and Percy has gotten kicked out of almost every school he's been too." Clint waited patiently for an explanation.

Paul whistled lowly, "Well you guys sure do your research."

"Care to explain?" Natalie asked.

"Well, Percy's father left before Percy was born. Annabeth's mother - well a similar story. She dropped Annabeth off at her father's steps, and never came back. I don't know the full reason of why Annabeth ran away. Percy has ADHD and Dyslexia, and he tries, god he tries, but he just attracts trouble." My Mom summarized for them. I noticed that she strategically avoided the whole man-hunt part of the conversation. Natalie and Clark looked at each other and had a silent agreement I couldn't read. Then they nodded and stood up.

"Thank you. We will contact you if we have anymore questions. We have a team going to talk to Frederick Chase too, so we will let you know if we get anymore information." Natalie told my parents. Annabeth wasn't too worried about that since he was out of the country for a conference on WWI battle strategies. Plus - Frederick didn't know anything anyways, so it would just be a dead end.

"Thanks for your hospitality. Most people wouldn't be so great to the people who are investigating their loved ones." Clark told them earnestly. He looked so genuine, that I almost wanted to like him. Almost.

Paul and my Mom said their goodbyes, and Natalie and Clark left. Annabeth ended the video there. Immediately everyone started talking, trying to process what they watched. Reyna, Frank, and a somewhat battered Hazel consulted with each other in the iris message they were watching from. It seemed quickly they had come to a decision.

"A friend of the legion has connections in politics." Reyna started. Immediately everyone hushed.

"He is under the impression that there are others - other _talented beings_." Reyna said.

Piper was the first to raise her eyebrows. " _Talented beings_?"

I snorted. "Sounds like they think we're aliens."

"Not aliens. Just people who got powers in suspicious circumstances. Some believe that they are heroes just like anyone of the Avengers…" Reyna trailed off. Her eyebrows knitted together.

"And the others?" Annabeth promoted her.

Reyna looked us straight in the eye and said, "And some believe they need to be eradicated."

My heart plummeted, and chaos broke out.

"Wait… hold up! Eradicated as in erased from existence?" Someone shouted. My heart was racing so bad that I didn't pay attention to who. I felt guilty since this entire problem was my fault. Demigods could be erased from existence, all because I wasn't paying attention.

"What do they do with these people?" Annabeth asked.

"They are monitored on an index - a list of powered people who are monitored." Reyna answered. I didn't understand how she looked so composed. I was on the verge of an anxiety attack. I guess she had longer to process this information.

"Monitored?" Chiron motioned for her to continue on. He didn't look surprised about this information. I wondered if he knew this already.

"Yes, monitored. SHIELD agents keep track of when and how these people use their powers."

"What happens if you use your powers when SHIELD doesn't want you to?" Jason asked. He had grown even tanner over the past month being outside and all, but right now he looked downright ghostly.

"It depends. First time offenders get a warning, but multiple time offenders - well they could get locked up in a place called the Ice Box." Reyna swallowed nervously. She looked like she was holding something back.

Everyone was in varying degrees of panic right now. Connor Stoll was tapping a pen nervously. Katie Gardner had her head in her hands (she might have even been crying). Piper was trying to use her charmspeak to calm down everyone, but it didn't seem to be working. Clarisse looked downright murderous. Annabeth worried me the most though. She was staring straight ahead with a poker face that almost fooled me - almost. I wanted so badly to just run away with her. We couldn't deal with this too. But I had caused this so I had to fix this. I wondered why the gods didn't just swoop in and turn back time or erase everyone's memory or manipulate the mist or _something_. To be honest, it made me pissed. Their children were in danger and they couldn't even lift a finger to help us. Even after everything that we had done for them.

"Percy."

My blood boiled. My heart raced. I had always known that Demigods would be in danger if we were found out… but the mist always fixed everything! Hiding had never actually been a real problem.

"Percy!"

My vision blurred. I felt like I was having a heart attack. How could a camp of teenagers compete with a government agency?! They had big machines and weapons and politics. We had weapons that wouldn't even effect mortals.

"PERCY!"

I snapped my head around. Hazel was calling my name.

"Hey, are you okay?" She looked at me concerned. Hazel reminded me of something, but I couldn't put my finger on what.

"Yeah. Fine." I assured her. But I wasn't fine. Not one bit.

"Really?" Clarisse asked. I was weirded out that Clarisse was so concerned for me. I mean we were on good terms after going through two wars together, but not enough for her to be mothering me.

"Yes. I'm _fine_." I told them.

Jason looked concerned at me. "Clearly not." I didn't understand what he was getting at, until I heard the sound of water. I turned to see through a crack of the ajar kitchen door. The faucet was rushing. I had broke it. I looked up to see cracks tracing through the ceiling. And weirdly enough I smelt blood. I looked at my hands to see that I had clenched them so hard, that my fingernails had pierced the top layer of my skin. The shallow cuts were bleeding badly. That's when I realized what Hazel reminded me of - Annabeth back in Tartarus with Akyhls. She looked worried, but also terrified - of me. I kept my gaze on my hands. I couldn't look anyone in the eye. I couldn't stand to see them terrified of me, of what I'd become. Besides, we had more to worry about than my mental health.

"Percy. Hey, we're going to fix this." Annabeth's voice sounded softly in my ear. She gently took my hands and examined them. Her presence calmed me down a little bit, but I was still ashamed. I wondered what everyone thought. Percy Jackson, survivor of Tartarus, having a meltdown in front of everyone. Normally I could deal with what people thought of me, but something about this felt different. I could practically hear their thoughts out loud - Percy is loosing it. Part of me wondered if that was true.

Annabeth led me to the kitchen. I could feel stares on the back of my neck, and my face burned. I didn't meet anyone's eyes. In the corner of my eye I could feel Chiron staring at me. I couldn't read his expression though.

Annabeth pulled me into the kitchen and shut the door behind us. She quickly grabbed some peroxide and some bandages and started cleaning my hands. The silence was awkward, but I didn't trust myself to speak.

"We're going to fix this. Okay?" Annabeth told me. It wasn't convincing though. Underneath her fake calm, she was terrified. Once she was done, she sat on the ground and pulled me down next to her. She laid my head in her lap, and kissed my forehead.

"I-" I started. I didn't know if I could get the words out to tell her how sorry I was for all of this.

"We're going to be okay. We are. We are going to be fine." Annabeth whispered reassuringly. What scared me though, was that she seemed to be trying to convince herself more than me.


	6. Chapter 6

I tapped my fingers on the edge of leg as I waited to be connected to my Mom through Iris Message. It was the night after my meltdown at the Big House. Annabeth had gone back to her cabin to talk to Frederick. I went to mine to try to calm down. I couldn't sit still though. My mind was racing, so I decided to call my Mom. I got more anxious as the seconds passed. Usually Iris Messages were immediate, especially since Fleecy and I were cool. I put my head in my hands to try to calm myself. When the Iris Message finally connected, I sighed in relief. I guess I hadn't realized that I was holding my breath.

"Percy?!" My Mom's voice came muffled, and urgent.

"Mom?! Where are you? What's going on?" I asked her. I tried to be whisper, because I didn't want to risk anyone noticing me. Nobody knew if the mist was still messed up since we locked up the camp. A scruffy teenager in a floating rainbow thing would for sure scare the crap out of anyone.

She kept repeating one word over and over that I couldn't understand.

"What are you saying? Where are you?" I desperately asked. I ran my hands frustratedly through my hair. Leave it to me not to be able to figure out what she was saying the one time it really mattered. I was scanning the warehouse for anything to give me a clue of where she could be when she tried to call my name again.

I turned back towards her and finally I understood.

Glenwood.

As soon as I deciphered it, a voice called out,"Anytime now. They should be showing up." A deep male voice told the hostages smugly. I recognized that voice. Deimos. Rage pulsed in my veins as he started turning towards my Mom's direction. A flicker of fear contorted her features. She scooted forward and looked me in the eyes carefully mouthing 'I love you'. Then she cut off the IM.

"Holy shit." Was the first thing that came out of my mouth. My heart raced as I ran out of my cabin.

"Hey bro? Where are you racing off to?" Jason's voice sounded. I barely registered what he was saying as I ran towards the Athena cabin.

"Percy? Hey! Just stop and talk to us." I could feel Piper's charmspeak wash over me. I slowed down, even though my every muscle in my body was screaming - telling me to keep going.

"My Mom. She - she's being held hostage. I have to go. I have to go!" I told them. Saying it out loud made it feel even worse. It felt like the weight of the sky was crushing me.

"What? Percy - wait! Let us help!" Piper called out. Jason ran towards me and stood in my path.

"Where is she?" Jason asked. He looked so calm that I wanted to slap the look off his face. My world was literally falling apart and he was acting like everything was fine.

"Glenwood." I answered as I shoved past him. I sprinted to the Athena cabin and opened the door. I could sense Piper and Jason right behind me.

"Annabeth." I called out to her breathlessly. My breath came in ragged. I was winded from that short run. Annabeth and I had been building our strength back after the whole Tartarus situation, but I guess we still had a long way to go.

"What's wrong?" She asked me immediately.

"I need to leave now. Glenwood." I told her.

"Its important." She said knowingly. I nodded eagerly. She knew me well enough to know that I wouldn't endanger the Demigods unless it was life or death.

"My Mom. She's in trouble and I need to help her. I need your Yankees hat." I told her quickly. She quickly stood up.

"We are going to help her. Jason, Piper come in. We need to make a game plan." She said. My legs were itching to run and get out of there.

"Can we get Nico to shadow travel us?" Annabeth asked.

Jason frowned, "No. He's still recovering. Plus even if he wanted to, four people is a lot."

Piper made a time-out motion with her hands, "Glenwood? That's where she is Percy?"

Irritatedly, I nodded. Why was she wasting our time?

"Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's girlfriend, is being held hostage in Glenwood. Reyna just told me earlier today when we were IMing." Piper told us. My heart stopped. I knew what the rest would say.

"We can't go then, Percy. SHIELD will be there - or at least Tony Stark. We just can't risk it." Jason said cautiously, "Besides, if it is a hostage situation, they'll be out of there in no time."

"Deimos. I saw Deimos." I desperately, "They can't fix this… but we can." The others looked conflicted. Save the hostages and risk everything, or not save the hostages and still risk everything? Without us, SHIELD would be useless and my Mom wouldn't be safe.

"We're wasting time!" I told them. My heart raced thinking about my Mom. I needed to leave.

Silently, they came to a consensus - save the hostages and hope for the best.

"Maybe if we save Pepper Potts, they'll go easy on us?" Piper said doubtfully. Nobody believed that, but there was no other option.

We snuck out of camp easily, and met in a camp van on the side of the road.

"Glenwood is on the state route 240." Piper told me.

"Percy what did the place look like?" Annabeth asked me.

"A warehouse. An abandoned one." I answered.

"The Glenwood Power Plant." Piper confirmed.

"Do you know how to get there?" I asked Piper.

"I think so. Take a left here." She pointed.

The trip from Long Island, New York, to Glenwood took a tense 5 minutes (speeding). When we finally saw the warehouse peeking over the horizon, Annabeth told me to park on the shoulder of the road. Warily, we got out and stood side by side - staring at the mammoth building looming in front of us.

"Okay.. now what?" Piper asked. She fiddled with the ends of her hair, and her multi-colored eyes were swirling so violently, they made me feel queasy.

"We go get my mom." I told her. I took a deep breath and was about to start towards the building, when Jason put a hand on my shoulder.

"Dude, we can't go in without a plan. We could make the situation worse." Jason frowned.

"Well we can't waste time. My mom is in there." I said exasperatedly.

"Percy. It never hurts to have a plan." Annabeth tried to placate me, "We need to split up. Two groups? We're right next to the Hudson Bay, so use water, Percy." Annabeth and I started towards the entrance when Jason coughed awkwardly. Jason and Piper stared at each other in a wordless argument.

Piper was the first to break the silent discussion, "Percy… I left my cornucopia in the car. Could you grab it for me?" Piper was fully capable of getting it herself, but I just wanted them to be faster so we could go get my Mom. I walked over to the car, and reached for the cornucopia. That's when I heard my name in hushed tones. They were talking about me to Annabeth.

"It's Percy. What if he has a meltdown if Sally is hurt?" Piper was asking Annabeth.

"Yeah, you saw how he acted earlier today." Jason added on. One part of me was kind of hurt that my friends didn't have faith in me. The other half agreed with them though. I was just wondering where they were going with this.

"What are you saying?" Annabeth asked defensively. She sounded irritated on my behalf, which made me feel a bit better.

"Let me go with Percy. I can charmspeak him if he gets… upset. Plus, I just think that maybe a mix-up would do all of us good." Piper persuaded her. Annabeth was quiet for a few seconds.

"We've been partners for forever… If anyone can calm him down - I can! I don't know…" She trailed off.

"Annabeth, we can't have him freaking out and jeopardizing everyone. SHIELD will be there. If he has a panic attack, bad things could happen. Normally, I would trust him. Sally means a lot to him, and all of us though. I don't know… with the way he was acting, Pipes and I are worried." Jason said. He sounded a tad desperate.

"You don't trust him? Really? Two of his best friends…." Annabeth asked incredulously. I pretended to be shuffling around in the car because I wanted to hear their response. Normally I wasn't an eavesdropper, but you try not listening to three of the most important people in your life talk about you.

"Annabeth… on the quest, Percy said some stuff to me that… I don't know… made me concerned about him. I'm worried Annabeth. I don't want anything to trigger him, and make his healing worse." Jason was tip-toeing around the truth. I knew what he was talking about. The underwater conversation we had after defeating Kym.

"What did he say? Why am I hearing this now?" Annabeth sounded cold and angry. I knew something was about to start, and I really, really did not want to deal with a fight on top of the anxiety about my Mom. Plus, I really, really, really did not want Annabeth to know about what I said to Jason.

"So what's the plan?" I asked as I crossed over to where they were standing. Annabeth's eyes darkened.

"We're gonna change it up today. Piper is going to go with you." Annabeth decided. I raised my eyebrows.

"Okay?" I said, "Let's go then." I started jogging towards the east entrance, with Piper quickly gaining on me. Annabeth and Jason went to the west entrance. I swallowed nervously while opening a giant metal door. Piper grabbed my arm. Her hands were freezing.

"It's gonna be okay." She whispered. I nodded, and together we entered the building. I uncapped riptide for light, as Piper tried to close the door as quietly as possible. I rushed forward into the center of the room, and Piper quickly followed.

"Percy, be subtle. We can't let Deimos know that we're here." Piper whisper-scolded me. I huffed, but complied as we continued on. So far, there was no evidence that anyone was here. Momentarily, I was worried that we were in the wrong place, but no. I recognized the feeling of this place. Old with a hint of creepy. Piper tapped me on the shoulder and motioned to room on the other side of the lobby-type area we were in. Together we cautiously opened the door. Five people sat bonded and gagged. I realized that their eyes were exposed. Clearly Deimos was cocky enough to believe there would be no witnesses. No witnesses… was he planning on murdering them? Or did he just not care? I was jolted out of my thoughts by Piper talking.

"Don't worry. We're here to help. I know we don't look like much, but we will get you out of here." She consoled them. I nodded in agreement, as I reached out to slice off the bonds of the closest person. Frightened she backed away. The hostage was a lady around 20 with dark skin, pretty brown eyes. Her leg was bent at an odd angle. It must have been broken. I started when I realized that my mom could be hurt like this too.

"Hey, I'm going to get these bonds off of you. Trust me." I looked her in the eye to show her I was genuine, and grudgingly she nodded. Quickly I sliced off the bonds, and un-gagged her. Piper went around to help the others as I examined her leg.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

"Maryam." She whispered softly.

"What happened?" I asked her gently. She trembled, and put her head in her hands helplessly. I decided not to press the matter as we would hear the story from Pepper Potts when she made her press statement. Besides, looking at the hostage's leg, I felt like I was going to upchuck. I didn't want to have to juggle any other facts in my brain.

"Look, I'm going to splint your leg." I assured her. She looked up warily, but nodded. I sliced off both of my pant legs, so they were shorts instead of jeans. Then I got a small wooden beam, and wrapped her leg up. She winced, but didn't complain. By the time I was done, Piper had let the rest of the hostages free.

"There are SHIELD agents somewhere around this place… I guess just stay here until they find you." Piper spiked her words with some charmspeak, and immediately the hostages settled back onto the floor.

"We're going to find the rest of the hostages." I motioned to two teenage boys, "Can you guys watch Maryam." They nodded, and Piper and I set off to examine the next rooms.

We found maybe 10 more hostages as we finished off the first floor. They were all in varying degrees of pain and panic. I wondered why SHIELD wasn't down here helping… in fact, where was SHIELD at all?

"Percy… isn't it odd that the doors have just been conveniently open for us?" Piper asked me slowly. I froze.

"So this is a set-up." I said dejectedly.

"A set-up for who though? SHIELD, or us?" Piper questioned.

"I don't know, but we have to find my Mom. We can worry about that later." I huffed heavily. Irritated, I climbed the steps. Piper looked like she wanted to say something, but held her tongue. I reached the top and paused to take catch my breath.

"You okay?" Piper looked concerned over at me.

"I've been better. Let's -" I started, but a loud bang that sounded like a gun shot cut me off. Piper pulled me behind a graffiti-covered abandoned car.

A male voice sounded out, "SHIT!" A few more bullets pierced the air. On the floor below us, multiple fights sounded.

"Wait here." I told Piper. I started to stand, as Piper pulled me back down.

"We go together." She said.

I raised my eyebrows, "No. We don't."

"If you get hurt, Annabeth will kill me." Piper hissed.

"If you get hurt, Jason will kill me." I retorted. Piper huffed.

"What? You don't trust me?" I asked sarcastically. Piper's eyes narrowed as she realized I overheard her conversation. I sort of felt bad for being a jackass to her, but I was annoyed. She was treating me like I was made of glass.

"We go together." Piper made it sound like the end of a conversation. I threw my hands up in the air. No point arguing with someone as stubborn as Piper.

"Come on. Stay close by." I compromised, and together we started towards the fight.


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys! Sorry it has been so long since I've uploaded. There are a lot of reasons, but I don't want to bore you with them. Besides, I'm here now!

So I've made an executive decision that instead of this being after Age of Ultron, this story is going to take place after the first Avengers. As for Agents of SHIELD, this story is going to take place somewhere after the mid-season finale of season 2. Somewhere around episode 11 or 12. It was just too confusing for me to try to incorporate NatxBruce since it would make the plot too busy, and to be honest, I don't ship it. Therefore, the whole inhuman thing in the start of this story should make sense. I tried to line up where AOS would be in coordination with that. (if that makes sense). To be honest, a big factor of me not posting was because I was trying to figure out how to change things so it would make sense, but still be better for me to write. I have written around 4 more chapters, so I haven't been completely lazy. Anyway, this still takes place after Blood of Olympus and the Staff of Serapis stuff, so yeah! Enjoy c:

P.S I don't own any characters by Rick Riordan or the Marvel universe (sadly).

* * *

Piper and I made our way down the stairs, practically hugging the walls to stay hidden. I tried to ignore my shaking hands. It was one thing to fight monsters. Basically all demigods were desensitized to that. But it was another to fight mortals... Mortals with guns.

I turned behind me and looked Piper in the eyes, "We stay together."

In return Piper nodded solemnly. She glanced down at my hands and slightly frowned. She grabbed them in a sisterly gesture and gave me a reassuring smile.

"Stay safe, alright?" She told me.

"Ditto." Once more, Piper squeezed my hands before pulling away. Together we descended to the bottom of the steps.

As we reached the bottom, the first thing I registered was two blonde heads on the other side of the warehouse. I met Annabeth's eyes, noting that they were especially stormy. She was mouthing something - go or no, maybe. Jason and her were hiding in an adjacent corner of the lobby area away from where the fight was happening. Only their heads were peeking out. Jason's eyebrows were knitted together and he was trying to subtly stick his hands out of their hiding spot and wave them. I gave him a questioning look and he pointed. There was a group of maybe five people fighting two faces that I recognized. Phobos and Deimos. I mouthed a swear word that I'm sure would've made my mother wash my mouth out.

"Pipes... Phobos and Deimos. The two guys in the leather jackets. Watch out. They make you watch your worst fears and manipulate your worst memories." I paused as I snorted, "Not like we have very many of those." Piper cracked a half-smile at that.

"We need to get to Jason and Annabeth." Piper sighed. I groaned inwardly. Only 5 armed adults and two dangerous gods to get through.

"Oh! Lookie! Phobos, guess who dropped by?" Deimos grinned wickedly turning around to face us, his scars marring his face. The hairs on my neck stood up, but I grinned good-naturedly.

"Long time, no see... Although I can't say I'm happy to change that." I said sarcastically. Piper slightly nudged my arm.

"Oh, and you brought a friend. Piper McClean. I can't wait to get into your mind and dissect it, Miss McClean. See how you tick... Just how long you can last..." Deimos licked his lips excitedly. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Jason leap forward. Annabeth tried to restrain him, but failed.

"Ah, Jason Grace. Protecting your little girlfriend. But you won't be able to in the end. None of you will." Deimos grinned. Sparks flew off Jason's arms.

"You know these freaks?" A girl with dark hair and bangs who looked to be in her late 20's asked Piper, Jason, and I. I took this time to survey the team. There was an official-looking guy in a suit with an ear-piece who looked to be in charge. He had a long scratch down the side of his face, and his suit was a little worse for wear, but other than that, he looked to be okay. His air of authority led me to believe he was in charge. A tall blonde lady in a tight-fitting suit stood warily next to him. She was wearing a mask of calm, but underneath I could tell she was raging. Her batons were cut in half, and she seemed to be hovering protectively over a middle-aged man with brown hair and stubble. He also seemed to be okay, but he looked more distraught than the others. A lady, who appeared to be one of the oldest in their group, stood in a defensive position. She was lean and lithe, like a cat, with long dark hair. She was also wearing a defensive mask. I almost wondered why they didn't look more upset, but I realized the time Piper and I spent coming down the steps, that had seemed like eternity, was merely a few moments.

Piper glowered, "Yeah. I've never had the pleasure of meeting them in person though." Phobos put a hand mockingly over his heart.

"Now Piper," He said condescendingly, "is that a way to talk to the people who helped you defeat Mimas, and saved your quest?" He feigned sadness.

"Quest? Swords? What are you the Knights of the round table?" I heard a male, British voice mumble. It came from the middle-aged brunette man, who got a swift elbow to the side by the blonde lady.

"Ow Bobbi!" He shot at her.

"A lover's spat? Percy I guess you know what that's like. I mean really... You and Annabeth must be on the rocks after your little tumble into the depths of hell." Phobos said innocently. Fear slipped it's way up and down my spine. I clenched my jaw and gave my best glare at Phobos.

"Oh really? Is that so?" I asked angrily. Phobos laughed happily and looked me in the eyes. Immediately scenes of Tartarus played. The air turned putrid, and the room turned into a vast expanse of land with a cliff off of one side. It became scorching hot, and there I was with Annabeth facing Akhyls. I watched myself, watched something inside of me snap. The poison wrapped around Akhyls, and in a terrifying sight, she started to drown. I peeled my eyes off of myself and saw past-Annabeth. Her eyes widened in absolute terror and disbelief. I was ashamed of what I did to her. Quickly, she became pale and shrunk away from the scene happening in front of her.

I've known her for years, and the only time I had ever seen her that scared was when Luke and Kronos joined together. Gee, wonder what that says about me.

I shut my eyes and clenched my fist together. I could hear her sobbing, begging me to stop.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I repeatedly whispered to her. Logically, I knew this was Phobos messing with me, but emotionally, it felt so real.

"Percy! Percy! I'm here. I'm here right now." I heard Annabeth say. It sounded muffled though, like in a dream. I felt a hand take my hand and place it on their heart. I could hear a steady beat, but it felt like it was happening in another world.

"PERCY! SNAP OUT OF IT!" I heard Piper call with her charm speak. I opened my eyes to see Annabeth staring concerned at me. Her hand was wrapped around mine, holding it up to her heart. Piper and Jason walked over to check if I was okay. Dazed, I looked over to see Phobos sprawled on the ground, sopping wet. He was gasping and choking. Deimos and the mortals were staring in shock at me. It was weird though because, the girl with bangs almost looked relieved.

"What happened?" I asked. Annabeth and the others stared at me in shock.

"You don't remember?" Annabeth asked worriedly.

"All I remember is that psycho showing me... I don't remember that happening." I told them. I mean I clearly would have remembered that creep getting soaked.

"Percy," Annabeth started off delicately, "you were drowning Phobos subconsciously, until we woke you out of your nightmare." She couldn't meet my eyes all the way.

"What?" I whispered, horrified. My hands shook, and I glanced at them horrified. Was this an Akhyls repeat?

I didn't have long to reflect on that thought as Deimos disappeared and reappeared across the room next to his brother.

"Get up!" He snarled as he manhandled Phobos into a standing position.

"Okay... What the hell is going on?" The British man asked exasperatedly, "I mean what the hell?"

"Less talking, more fighting." I muttered as I lunged forward after Phobos. Annabeth ran after me, as Piper and Jason headed towards Deimos.

"Don't let them get inside your head, and you're fine. They're terrible swordsman." Annabeth called out to Piper and Jason. I slashed riptide in an arc over Phobos' head. At the last second he managed to dodge the sword. Annabeth stood next to me and thrusted her drakon-bone sword. Together we sliced at Phobos, who was barely managing to not get chopped in half, let alone play offense.

"Don't you want to check on your Mom, Percy? She could be dying... And it would be your fault for not helping her." Phobos taunted me. His eyes turned red, and I saw my Mom dying, sobbing, calling out to me.

"Percy! This is your fault!" She cried. I wrenched my eyes away from her face.

"This isn't real." I told myself. My hands were shaking and my heart raced. It was true of course, but having an anxiety attack wouldn't stop Phobos and Deimos.

"It's not real." I repeated. I took a few deep breaths, and covered my ears to drown out my Mom's voice.

"Not real. Not real." I repeated this mantra a few more times, before I uncovered my ears and opened my eyes.

"Percy! Duck!" Annabeth shouted, and I fell to the floor. Phobos had swung his sword right where my neck would have been. Beheading... Offhandedly I wondered if Phobos had been watching Game of Thrones lately.

I grabbed Phobos' ankle, and dragged him to the ground. Annabeth grabbed his sword, and stepped on his hand.

Annabeth turned towards me, "Let's take care of him and go find your Mom, Percy." I nodded as she looked down. Phobos' eyes turned red again, and Annabeth turned pale. She was quiet for a moment before she started whispering.

"Percy... No Percy! Some things shouldn't be controlled." She called out. The horror was apparent in her voice, and immediately I knew what she was reliving.

"I'm here." I consoled her. I stood up, and grabbed her hand, but she snatched it out of my grasp.

"Hey it's okay. We're together, and safe." I told her soothingly. Beads of sweat dripped down her face. It was frustrating, because I couldn't do anything to lessen her pain. Annabeth teared up, and my frustration turned to absolute rage.

I turned on my heel and bent down to get on Phobos' level. One hand, acting on its own accord, clasped around his throat, and the other punched him so hard in the nose, it probably broke. Golden ichor gushed down his face, as he grinned maliciously.

"Stop what you're doing to her. Right. Now." I hissed between clenched teeth. A small flicker of terror illuminated the god's face. As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared.

I slapped my hand down next to his face after a short period of silence.

"STOP IT! STOP HURTING HER!" I roared. In response, Phobos spat ichor in my face. Angrily, I wiped it off. I punched him again, and again, as Annabeth's condition worsened.

"Percy! Percy stop!" Jason yelled from across the room. The five mortals rushed over. I punched him again. It was like a dark force had grabbed hold of me, and I couldn't stop.

"You're going to kill him!" The girl with bangs shouted. I didn't bother telling them that I couldn't. Why didn't Phobos just teleport away?

"Sir, I'm going to need you to back away from the man. Right now." The boss-dude said. I kept on punching. My face and clothes were covered in ichor at this point. The blonde lady grabbed my arms, as the boss-dude grabbed my torso and dragged me away. I struggled, trying to get out of their grasp. They held tight though. Oddly enough, I noticed that Phobos' eyes weren't red anymore.

"Simmons, bring in the sedative." The boss dude said into his earpiece. I made eye-contact with Piper and Jason who had trapped an unconscious Deimos under some scrap car parts. They didn't bother trying to hide their revulsion. It was startling to know that I had caused the looks on their faces.

All of the sudden it hit me... Phobos' eyes weren't red. Annabeth had seen... Oh my gods... Annabeth had seen what I had done. I quickly met her eyes. She couldn't meet mine. She was trembling so violently, I was worried for her health. Had I done that?

Her hair was knotted and she looked years younger, and so vulnerable. She looked like the 12- year old Annabeth that was terrified of Luke. The worst part was her expression... She wasn't shocked. She looked like her worst fears were confirmed. I couldn't stand that I had disappointed her. I wanted so bad to go back in time and just disappear.

"Annabeth..." I croaked. Her chin trembled. I grew limp in the mortal's arms. I just wanted to stop fighting and sleep for a long time. For once, I wanted to break down and scream until I couldn't speak. I didn't want to struggle anymore. I felt so many emotions that I couldn't feel separate them from each other. I felt everything and nothing at all. My mind was racing, with so many thoughts running through it, that I welcomed the familiar pinch of a needle. Everything became fuzzy at once, and the last picture in my mind before everything went dark was Annabeth with her eyes wide, and her mouth set in a firm line. She looked so beautiful and wild, kind of like the lion we had seen at the zoo on our last date before our lives went to hell.

"I'm sorry." I tried to tell her. But my mouth soon tasted like cotton and my head lolled back as the welcomed drugs kicked in.

* * *

So that's pleasant haha ;) don't worry. The whole fic isn't going to be so angsty.

I was thinking of maybe making a short story after this fic is finished where the characters from the Kane Chronicles series meet up with Percabeth and the Avengers... I'm not too sure yet.

P.S Points to anyone who can guess who made up the SHIELD team, and also points to anyone who can figure out why Skye looked relieved!


	8. Chapter 8

I was awakened to an almost blindingly white room. I was laying on a single bed with a lumpy pillow and a thin sheet. The room was almost except a metal toilet in the corner, and a small nightstand, chair, and a small camera installed in the ceiling.

I tried to get up, but when I moved, my head whirled. Regardless, I pushed through the pain and sat up. Dazed, I wondered where I was and why I was here. Then in a rush it all came back. The fight with Phobos and Deimos. The nightmares. Annabeth. The punches. The injection.

"Shit." I muttered as I ran my hand through my hair. Finally it connected. I was in SHIELD facilities. Those people with the fancy suits, earpieces, guns and cat suits must be agents. No police or FBI or EMTS would wear that kind of stuff. They had to be higher up in the food chain. And I just landed myself into the heart of the place I had been trying to hide from.

Worriedly I wondered what had happened to Annabeth, Piper, and Jason. Had they been captured too? Did they escape? Was there a fight? I punched the wall angrily, and immediately bit back curses as I heard the metal door scrape open.

"Might not want to do that. You're only going to end up hurting yourself." A smooth voice came from the other side of the room. I turned around to face Natalie Rushmore. The lady who interviewed my mom and Paul. My Mom! I guilty started as I remembered that I never saved her.

As if guessing what I was thinking about, Natalie said, "Don't worry. One of our specialist teams saved all of the hostages shortly after sedating you." She raised an eyebrow as she finished, urging me to explain my utter meltdown.

"My friends. Are they here?" I asked urgently, avoiding her silent question. Natalie crossed the room in a few fluid strides and leaned against the sink.

"No. They got away. Your friends put up one hell of a fight." She said with the slightest tinge of fascination coloring her words. Why she was telling me this?

"You can tell when someone is lying by subtle cues in their demeanor. For example, liars tend to change their behavior or talking speed rapidly. They avoid saying "I", and move around quite frequently. You can ask me again and watch. I'm not lying." She gave me a flicker of a smile. Maybe she was trying to put me at ease, to prove her trustworthiness, but it set me on edge instead.

Knowing they escaped consoled me a bit. Now I only had to focus on getting myself out of here.

"We gave you a tranquilizer that would have put out and elephant, and yet you are awake after less than 12 hours. That's almost unheard of. Care to explain?" She asked.

"Not really." I said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and turned away from her.

"I bet it felt good. Punching that guy I mean. Getting all that anger out. I mean he tortured you and your girlfriend. He kidnapped your Mom. He was asking for it." Natalie goaded me. She was trying to get under my skin, but I wasn't an idiot. I wasn't going to give her any information.

"What did he make you see Percy? What could have been so bad that you would want to beat him to death? I mean you're just a seventeen year old boy. What could be so bad in your life?" Natalie questioned with a fake innocence. My blood started to boil again.

"What could have been so bad in my life? Do you want it in chronological or alphabetical order?" I snorted bitterly.

"Really? I mean I get that Gabe would have been traumatic..." She trailed off. I almost retorted, but I bit my tongue.

"When can I leave?" I asked her. She cocked her head to the side.

"As soon as you cooperate and tell us what we want to know." She answered evenly. I squinted my eyes accusatorially.

"What do you want to know?" I inquired slowly.

"Who are you?"

"Perseus Jackson. Son of Sally and Paul Blofis." I provided. She pursed her lips slightly.

She rolled her eyes, "Who are you really?"

"A troubled teen from New York. Boyfriend of Annabeth Chase. Good enough?" I huffed. She sighed and gave me a slightly irritated look.

"Listen. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. That's up to you." She said exasperated, then she lowered her voice and continued, "I'm trying to help you, okay?"

I snorted, "Yeah.. Sure. Like a government official would want to help me." I shifted slightly away from her and leaned against the headboard of my bed with my legs crossed.

"This is your last chance Jackson." Natalie warned. In response I closed my eyes and pursed my lips. I waited silently for her to leave for a few moments. After a little bit, she sighed heavily and crossed the room to the door. I could feel her stare practically penetrate my soul, until she finally clicked the door open and left, shutting it heavily behind her.

I sat slightly panicking for a few hours, until the door slid open once more. In walked the banged lady from the warehouse. In her hands she carried a plate of food. A simple sandwich, an apple, and a glass of water. I sighed internally, because I was starving and a sandwich and an apple were not going to satisfy my empty stomach.

"Lunch." She said warily.

"That's it?" I asked grumpily. She cracked a smile at that.

"Yeah. It's better than prison food though." She said conversationally. She set the tray down on the nightstand. She pulled the chair over next to my bed.

"I remember my isolation days. Although.. The circumstances were different." She reflected. I raised an eyebrow at that.

"I know. I used to be a rebel too, you know." I snorted at her insinuating I was a rebel. As if.

She continued on, "SHIELD saved me though. And now I get to help people and mess with awesome high tech stuff. You know... The people here aren't so bad. In fact, some of them are pretty cool." I looked over at her incredulously.

"I'm locked up for nothing and you're preaching that SHIELD is good to me?" I shook my head. I mean really...

"I know it sounds stupid, but trust me I know... By the way I'm Skye." She reached out her hand to give to me, and hesitantly I shook it.

"Eat up dude. You'll thank me later. If you think lunch is bad, wait 'till you see dinner." She smiled, and headed towards the door. As she was about to pull the handle, she hesitated. She turned around and glanced at me nervously.

"Percy... Your water powers. Are there more people like you?" Of course I wasn't going to tell her, but her asking seemed innocent and genuinely curious, unlike Natalie's prying. I had a feeling that there was a lot weighing on my answer for Skye. I almost felt bad for lying... Almost.

"No. Just me." I lied. Skye frowned slightly like she knew I was wasn't giving her the truth. A glimmer of hope twinkled in her eyes though, and I was just a teensy bit less worried knowing that Skye knew my secret. I had a gut feeling that her intentions were good, and that she wasn't going to blab to all of SHIELD that there are more powered people.

Skye glanced up at the camera, and positioned herself directly in front of it. Conveniently, her and I were hidden from plain view. Out of nowhere, she reached into her jacket and grabbed a pencil and paper. I wondered why she had it, but then again she was a government agent... And they're all mysterious weirdos.

She quickly scribbled something on the paper and held it up for me to read. It was hard with my dyslexia to make it out, but the message seemed something like, "The camera transmits audio and visual. The Avengers, my team, and some others are watching you." I looked her in the eye when I was done reading and nodded in understanding. She slightly smiled, and started crumpling the paper. After a few seconds of that she mimicked flushing the toilet. Puzzled, I got out of the bed and pressed the metal handle down. Once I was done, she stepped out of the way of the camera.

"Thanks." I whispered. She flicked her eyes warily at the camera.

"I wouldn't want some random strangers watch and hear me pee in HD either." She winked at me, and then saluted as she left. I wondered why Skye would want to help me. I mean she barely knew me. Heck, she even saw my breakdown yesterday... And only seemed slightly fazed. I mean I get that she was an agent and was trained to kill and hide her emotions... But still. I was extremely suspicious of the Skye character... But at the same time, she was better than Natalie.

After, I grabbed the tray and set it on my lap. I took a bite of the sandwich and surprisingly didn't gag. I mean it tasted really good, too good to be prison food. I mean it was on like Camp Half-Blood's food level (which is surprisingly hard to beat... Those harpies make a mean grilled cheese).

I gobbled down the rest and then wolfed down the apple. Once I took a break and sat for a moment, I realized how thirsty I was. I took a sip of the water, and -

Wait! Water! Those idiots!

Tentatively, I sloshed the water gently, testing my strength. Still a little weak, but good considering the circumstances. Happily I lounged back knowing that I had this advantage.

"Yo! Can I get another sandwich? Those were ridiculously good and I am so hungry right now. You don't even know." I shouted in the direction of the camera. I would need all the sustenance I could get to manage a break out. And well... The sandwich was really good.

While waiting, I came up with a game plan to escape this marshmallow room, find the others, and escape. It wouldn't be easy... there were armed agents everywhere, and this place was probably a maze of booby-traps. The odds were against us Demi-gods, but I wasn't willing to give up just yet. I had started this mess, so I had to fix it.

It seemed to be hours later by the time someone arrived with a sandwich. It was the man with the eyepatch... Nicky Fury if I remembered that correctly.

"Took you a long time to make a sandwich. What did you do butter the bread or something fancy like that?" I asked only partially sarcastically. Fury rolled his eyes - um eye. He leaned up against the wall, and I laughed.

He looked at like I was crazy and asked, "What?"

"What do you SHIELD people have against sitting. Everyone who has come in here has stood. I mean if all you do is stand, it must tire your legs or something right?" I asked him incredulously. In return he squinted his eye at me and looked me up and down.

He must have decided that it wasn't a conversation worth pursuing, because he started saying, "Skye and Natasha -" but I cut him off.

"Natasha?" I asked. There wasn't an interviewer named Natasha that I could recall.

"Natalie is Natasha Romanoff. Seasoned assassin." He supplied. Worriedly, I wondered if people who knew agent's real names lived.

"Jackson, we've already given you the option of the easy way. You refused. As I once said to an old friend 'ant meet boot'." He told me menacingly. I didn't like the sound of that. Even though this guy was old, he was built like a truck.

"I'm giving you one chance before I have Dr. Banner come in and run a truth detector test." He warned. My hands shook, so I gripped the bed to stop them. A lie detector test would surely expose the truth and would ruin the Demi-god race.

"Sounds fun." I quipped sarcastically. Fury's permanent scowl deepened.

"I wouldn't test me if I were you. You don't know what the director of SHIELD is capable of." In return I saluted, and gave him my widest smile. Fury clenched his jaw for a moment, but then resumed talking.

"Romanoff asked you who you were. You said Percy Jackson. Now I'm asking you, what are you? And you are going to respond with something helpful." The guy commanded me. I had to restrain myself from rolling my eyes.

"A person. Next question please." I told him nonchalantly. His eyes turned hard and he squinted his eye.

"Banner!" He barked at the camera, "Get in here with the machine." He looked at me in a way that sent shivers down my spine. It wasn't like he was being harsh or glaring or anything. He looked at me in a way that reminded me of an insect being observed under a magnifying glass. It felt like he knew all my secrets or would find out. In one glance, I knew that I had been underestimating the power they could have over me. Unless I did some quick thinking, there was virtually no way for me to escape without spilling all of my secrets.

After a few seconds, a man with salt and pepper hair and glasses walked in with a large cart that had a computer with a lot of wires on it. He didn't look very threatening, but there was an air about him that said he had been through a lot. He kinda reminded me of Chiron.

Quickly he pulled the nightstand over next to the bed and sat the computer on it. The machine had a lot of creepy wires attached to it and sorta looked like an octopus.

Wordlessly Dr. Banner pulled up a chair next to the machine and then rolled the cart over.

"This is a polygraph machine Mr. Jackson. First I am going to attach these wires to you. Then, I am going to ask you a series of questions. Respond and I will be able to check a number of things on this screen over here. If you lie, one of the lines on here will spike. Okay?" He said quietly. He looked slightly concerned. About what I had no idea. Maybe he heard about my fiasco with Phobos and Deimos, or maybe he was just scared of Fury. I wouldn't blame him.  
I nodded mutely in return. Taking that as a signal to go, he reached over and attached a couple wires to my fingers, and a couple bands around my chest. Then he put a band around my bicep.

Then Dr. Banner sat down across from me on the chair and took a deep breath.

"We'll start off with some simple questions." He told me reassuringly, and then continued, "Is Perseus Jackson your real name?"

"Yes." I said smoothly. If I was going to be questioned about my deep dark secrets, may as well try to pretend I wasn't terrified to save some dignity.

Dr. Banner looked at the computer and nodded.

"Is your mother Sally Jackson-Blofis?" He questioned.

"Yes."

Clear.

"Is New York your birthplace?"

"Yes."

Clear again.

"Is your birthday August 18th, 1993?"

"Yes."

"Do you have green eyes?"

"Yes."

"Did Gabe Ugliano ever hit you?"

"Well that just went from zero to one hundred real fast."

"Answer the question Mr. Jackson."

"Y-yes."

"Do you resent him for that."

"Yes."

"Do you have nightmares about him."

"Yes."

"Did he disappear?"

Well yeah he kinda did. I mean no one has seen him sense. And who knows... Maybe Medusa's stone never killed him. Maybe he was just stuck paralyzed forever, forced to watch museum-goers gawk at him. I almost smiled. I liked the idea of Gabe being tortured eternally.

"Yes."

Dr. Banner looked at the polygraph closely to decipher it. My stomach started to clench in anxiety.

Wordlessly he nodded. Clear. Thank gods. I had to resist the urge to sigh in relief.

"Are you human." Another tricky question. But technically I'm half human... So...

"Yes." Dr Banner glanced at the polygraph and frowned.

"You passed." He said incredulously. My stomach unknotted and I leaned back. A weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

"Guess you have to let me go now. It's a shame though. Those sandwiches were really good. Could you get me one on the way out?" I grinned. Fury looked at me accusatorially. He looked irritated beyond compare, like he was personally insulted I passed.

"Hold on. You aren't going anywhere. I don't know how you passed, but I'm going to figure it out. We will resume testing in the morning." Fury told me. He signaled for Banner to start packing up. The doctor reached out to start taking the straps off of me as I jumped up.

"I passed! You can't keep me here! I bet this is against so many laws!" I protested. They couldn't keep me here!

"Sit down son. You bet your ass I can keep you here. We all know about your water display. I am going to keep you here until you can explain to me how you did that." He raised his eyebrows, daring me to argue. Dr. Banner gently pushed me back onto the bed and attempted to restrain me with one hand as the other pulled off the sensors.

"Gods! You people are crazy! I can't be here! You need to let me go!" I shouted angrily. They were not going to lock me up for another night. No way.

Nick Fury didn't even look at me. He turned with a swish of his jacket (seriously how did he do that?) and walked out of the room. Dr. Banner looked curiously at me and gave me an apologetic shrug.

"It's better not to resist Percy." He murmured knowingly. I stared at him disbelieving.

"Can I get you anything to help you sleep?" He asked me kindly.

I huffed and stared at my hands as I said, "Annabeth." Dr. Banner gave me a pitying glance and quickly packed up the rest of his stuff.

"Night Mr. Jackson." He told me before he left with a whoosh of the door, sealing me in that hellish cage. 

* * *

Things are getting interesting now! (This will not be a skye x percy story btw) See you next chapter.

PS guys I am not going to set a certain date to update since I am so busy. I'm just gonna try to update when I have free time. C:


	9. Chapter 9

As soon as Dr. Banner left I jumped out of the bed and ran to the door. It was made out of sturdy metal that would be impossible to break. I would've gave anything to have Hazel with me right then.

Instead, all I had was myself and riptide. I wondered why they didn't take the pen off of me, but I guess they couldn't. It wouldn't help me escape, so I just forgot about the pen for now.

I scanned the door for any weaknesses. It was smooth without hinges on this side. The door was probably locked on the other side. Basically it was like a ginormous sheet of metal with a knob on it. Nothing that could help. Just my luck.

Sighing, I doubtfully tried to turn the knob. As I suspected, it was locked and wouldn't budge. Instead of hitting the wall again, I gave my best wolf glare in the direction of the camera. They could keep me in here, but I wasn't going to be a happy camper.

Huffing, I paced around the room. I circled the area of the room for what felt like hours and my head felt dizzy. Sleeping wasn't an option though. Not without Annabeth. The nightmares would be ten times worse, and I couldn't afford exposing a weakness. So I kept circling. When I had enough of that, I sat on the ground and hummed all of the songs I could think of. Then I did some push ups because I was restless sitting on the ground. I played with the water for a little bit. I ate the sandwich that Fury had brought. I was had just finished counting to 300 when my eyelids started to droop.

301\. Keep your eyes open Percy.

302\. Keep your eyes open Percy.

303\. Keep your eyes open Percy.

304\. Keep your eyes - quickly I felt myself falling into a deep sleep on the floor. I lost consciousness and was immediately greeted by Camp Half-Blood.

The place was in complete chaos and disarray. Small fires were being put out all over the camp. Demigods limped to mobile infirmaries set up all over. Will Solace was working overtime trying to accommodate for everyone. Gold dust was strewn across the camp in a light blanket. The sunshine that normally shown through the camp was replaced by fog and light rain. The place looked eerie - not like the home that I was accommodated too.

Worriedly, I wondered what had happened. Clearly an attack had struck the camp, but what kind? Who was hurt? Was Annabeth safe?

I ran my hands through my hair worriedly, and then I noticed it. My hands were somewhat see-through, but more solid than normal in my dreams. Experimentally I clapped. A dull sound came back.

"Percy." A deep voice rumbled. Quickly I whirled around. Poseidon's face greeted me solemnly.

"Dad?" I asked in confusion. His eyes swirled dangerously.

"Luck is not in your favor is it?" He raised his eyebrows and continued, "As you can see, there has been an attack on Camp Half-Blood. I think it would be easier to show you than explain." I protested slightly, but Poseidon whirled his hand and I was standing in the middle of Camp Half-Blood.

No fires, no dust, no wounds. This clearly must have been before the attack.

"I'm worried Piper. Percy's PTSD… I don't know how he's gonna handle being separated. I miss him." Annabeth had her face buried in her hands, as Piper stared at the sky. Piper rubbed circles on Annabeth's back. The smell of strawberries lingered in the air.

"He's strong Annabeth. He'll get through it. We just have to figure out a plan to get to him." Piper said solemnly. For a moment, they were both silent, until a loud BOOM echoed through the air. Immediately both girls sprung up and raced towards the sound.

Large hellhounds attacked campers. Piper and Annabeth unsheathed weapons and lunged forward in attack. In the distance, Jason, and Nico fought next to each other, efficiently working as a team to take down the monsters. Will rushed around with some campers setting up a makeshift first-aid tent and treating campers. Chiron shot hellhounds with arrows.

Lacey, one of the nicest Aphrodite girls, was pinned in a corner of the stables. Three hellhounds advanced slowly on her. Terrified, Lacey screamed with tears running down her face. I tried to scream for help, but I wasn't really there. Luckily, Katie Gardner and Mitchell ran to her aid. Katie grew plants around each of the hellhound's legs, while Mitchell shot an arrow through them. When the hellhounds were gone, they turned to go fight, but ran into Clarisse.

Clarisse's eyes were glazed, and her movements were robotic.

"Clarisse! Come on! Let's fight!" Katie yelled as she tried to run past Ares' daughter. Clarisse hit Katie on top of the head, and she crumpled. Clarisse then turned around to close the doors of the stables.

"What the hell Clarisse?!" Mitchell cried. He pushed Lacey back behind him.

"What's wrong with you?" Mitchell asked warily. Clarisse didn't respond. Instead she whistled sharply, and a group of hellhounds sprinted towards them.

"Clarisse!" Lacey and Mitchell screamed in unison. Clarisse didn't flinch. Instead she robotically dragged Katie into the corner of the room. She took out her spear and made to hit Katie. Instead, Mitchell jumped forwards and jumped on her back. They both toppled to the group, wrestling.

"Clarisse? Did you cause this?" Lacey asked faintly. Clarisse swung at Mitchell, but he quickly rolled away.

"Lacey! Run! Go get help!" Mitchell screamed. Clarisse quickly knocked him out as he was distracted. Lacey's eyes widened in horror.

"Why are you doing this?!" She cried. Clarisse whispered softly what translated to "Chaos is rising" in english over and over.

Lacey screamed as loud as she could, and Piper looked over. She dragged Annabeth with her, and together they raced towards the stables. The hellhounds were almost approaching, and Annabeth threw her sword. One of the hellhounds collapsed, turning to dust. Piper tried to charmspeak Clarisse from afar, as Clarisse picked up her spear. Annabeth yelled for back up. As other fights gradually ended, more people ran to help.

Piper and Annabeth arrived at the hellhounds. Piper yelped as one bit her leg. Annabeth lunged at the monster that bit Piper and gutted it. Piper kicked another one in the face, and then stabbed it. Jason ran up, gasping, and took down another one. With the assistance of a few other demigods, the monsters were quickly killed.

"HELP!" Lacey shrieked. Clarisse was hovering over her, ready to strike. Quickly, Jason sprinted towards them and tackled Clarisse. A demigod helped Piper to the first aid tent. Annabeth gently picked up Lacey and carried her to Will.

"What the fuck just happened?" A camper asked breathlessly. As Jason examined Clarisse, he sighed heavily.

Jason huffed, "I have no clue." The scene muted itself, and I jumped as Poseidon appeared next to me.

"The next danger is upon us Percy." Poseidon said gravely. He stared at me, his eyes swirling dangerously. My heart clenched thinking about another war.

"Evil never rests sadly." Poseidon said in tune with my thoughts.

"Not even for a small nap?" I asked exasperated. Poseidon chuckled darkly.

"Not even for a small nap. Something evil is stirring Percy. I'm afraid our situation with SHIELD complicates things." I glared at the trees off in the distance - like the world's angriest tree hugger.

"What do I do? I mean you kinda threw us to the wolves." I said. Poseidon sighed heavily.

"I'm afraid we still are not allowed to assist. With what happened to Apollo…. well no one is exactly willing to risk their place in Olympus. I will do what I can, but you are capable. Also, with new resources available… I believe we may have an easier win." Poseidon said evenly. I almost choked.

"What new resources?" I asked apprehensively. Poseidon looked at me knowingly.

"SHIELD Percy. We must get all the help we can. The Gods are at their weakest. We are still recovering from the giant war. The camps are still being repaired - supplies are dwindling, as well as morale." Poseidon grabbed my shoulder, "I just don't believe we can muster another win on our own. We need SHIELD's help." I ran my hands through my hair.

"SHIELD kidnapped me! I'm already on Fury's bad side! I just don't think this can work." I said angrily. I was not going to cooperate with the people who might want to eradicate the entire demigod race.

"They want to kill us! Reyna's friend found that out. I can't put the camps in more danger than they are in now." I told him desperately. Poseidon sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Trust me Percy. I know the gravity of this situation. I think we are just going to have to pray that the Fates are on our side on this one. If not… well we may have two evil forces going against us." Poseidon turned to face me, and my heart dropped. He looked so defeated. If Poseidon, an immortal god, was scared… well I didn't want to think about that.

"You need to befriend SHIELD Percy. You can tell them about Olympus and the Camps. Do not reveal the locations. The last thing we need is mortals meddling in our affairs. Get on the inside. If you can successfully build an alliance, we will stand a chance against whoever caused the attack on Hazel and on this camp. If not… I'm afraid we will be doomed." Poseidon stared at the sky, and patted my shoulder encouragingly.

"Why me? I'm not good with people. Why not Piper? She can charmspeak! Jason is way more friendly…. even Rachel or Hazel or someone else!" Poseidon turned to me.

He considered me a moment and said, "They already have you captive Percy. You have already made a lasting imprint in their mind. I believe in you. You are special Percy. You have a good heart. You can do this." Poseidon smiled kindly, and pushed my hair back.

"You can do this." He repeated as he pulled me into a hug. He smelled like seaweed and salt, and his arms enveloped my entire frame. It felt safe and secure. I didn't want to wake up and have to face the scary task ahead. Instead, I wanted to stay in this moment forever.

After a few seconds, Poseidon pulled away. He smiled at me, and pulled out a small object from his pocket. In his hand lay a small, round pocket-watch type thing. It was gold, and engraved on it was the words "A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.".

"A pocket size instant iris message-maker. You just have to open it and a rainbow will instantly appear. I got a favor from Fleecy and Iris since you made such a good impression on them. Remember Percy: Follow your gut and your heart. You have good instincts. Use them." Poseidon said solemnly. He enclosed the present in my hands and patted my back.

"I believe in you." He said kindly. I nodded.

"Thanks… I'll try not to let you down." I whispered. Poseidon waved his hand and suddenly I was away from Camp Half-Blood. I jerked awake.

"Fuck!" I whispered to myself as I ran my hands through my hair. This couldn't be happening.

I wasn't left to my thoughts for long as a voice coughed. Skye stood in the corner of the room. Her hair was tied in a loose ponytail, and she brightened when she saw me move.

"How'd you sleep?" She asked nonchalantly, as if we were friends just hanging out. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Um… I need to talk to Fury."


	10. Chapter 10

"Um… I need to talk to Fury."

Skye stared at me for a few seconds, "Are you going to elaborate on this sudden change of heart?"

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. How was I going to explain this all?

"Listen… I promise I'll tell you everything as soon as I can. Please just take me to Fury. It's important. Trust me?" I asked. I used my pleading puppy eyes that used to always make Annabeth give in. Skye raised her eyebrows, but went to the door and opened it up.

"I'll go get him. Be smart Percy." Skye said. I guess she could sense that I had a stupid plan brewing.

My heart raced as I waited for him alone. What if he hated me after yesterday? What if he didn't believe me? Or worse, what if he did? If I couldn't succeed… well things wouldn't end well. But I had started this mess, and I had to fix it.

A few seconds later, Fury strode into the room with a swish of his leather jacket. He looked suspicious, and my heart fluttered. This was really happening.

"Jackson. You wanted to talk to me?" Fury asked menacingly.

I swallowed and managed out the words, "Yeah… can this be a private talk?" I didn't want the other agents listening in if things went south. Fury nodded cautiously, and the camera shut off with a click.

"Fury… I think we got off on the wrong foot yesterday." I started out lamely. Fury raised his eyebrows.

"Aside from you being a sarcastic little shit?" He asked sarcastically. I swallowed nervously.

"Listen, I'm willing to fully cooperate now." I raised my hands into the air as if to placate him.

"Why the sudden change?" He asked.

"Honestly? It's in my best interest to be truthful. That's the only way out of this mess for me." I told him. That was the truth. My dad told me to bond with them, so this was the first step.

"Well then explain Jackson." Fury motioned with his hands for me to continue.

I rubbed my eyes, and said, "You may want to sit down. It's a long story."

"So the picture of me… There's a reason for the debate over it. Thor is norse, correct?" I waited a few seconds to let Fury get the picture. No sense in beating around the bush.

"Well, there are more than just norse gods. There are Greek and Roman too." Fury raised his eyebrows and sighed heavily.

"Well that just made things a hell of a lot more complicated for me." He said darkly. I smiled weakly.

"Trust me… I know the feeling. So when I was younger, I never knew my father. My mom always told me he was lost at sea or something. Weird things always happened to me though. I got attacked by weird beings - monsters, and got kicked out of a bunch of schools. Then when I was twelve, I was taken to a camp. There I learned that the greek and roman gods are still around. They shift to wherever the epicenter of power is I guess. Right now they are in the USA. My mom and Poseidon had me. I'm a demigod. Uh… there are other people like me. We train to survive monster attacks at these camps. When I first got there, we battled Kronos who rose from the pits of hell. That sucked. Then we just battled Gaea. That sucked too."

Fury held up his hand for me to stop.

"How _the hell_ did we not notice this?" He asked incredulously.

"There is a thing called the mist that basically shields the mortal world from our world. That's why the photo is messed up. People who see me and Annabeth fighting a hellhound can see through the mist. People who see other things can't."

Fury nodded, and sat down into the metal chair with a THUD.

"I know. It's overwhelming. We don't want to cause any trouble though. You guys deal with alien crap. We deal with Greek/Roman crap. Our camps have actually saved the world from destruction far too many times now. I know that…. I don't know…. maybe you wouldn't like us? We haven't bugged you before, and we won't bug you now. Honestly, this whole photo thing was a complete mess up on my part. Usually we are a lot more careful. Our demigod race needs to keep this a secret though. If we revealed our existence to mortals… there would be absolute hell." I pleaded, trying to make sure Fury didn't rat us out to the world.

"I agree with you on that one. People can barely handle norse gods and aliens… let alone greek and roman gods. This has to stay between us." Fury said decisively. I sighed in relief.

"Great! I was so worried - " I exclaimed. It was as if a knot in my chest untied itself.

"Why are you telling me Jackson? If you have powers, you could have gotten out…" Fury asked suspiciously.

"There's another attack at camp. I need to get back to help. We don't know what's going on." I told him. Fury narrowed his eyes.

"Another threat?" He asked. I nodded.

"How would you feel about joining SHIELD?" Fury asked cautiously. I widened my eyes in shock. Allying with them shouldn't have been so easy.

"I think that could work."


	11. Chapter 11

I sat on a metal chair behind a window. On the other side of the glass, the Avengers were seated around a large, silver conference table. Everyone seemed on edge. Natasha sat rigid-back, scanning the room carefully with her eyes. Clint had a deep scowl etched on his face. Even Tony seemed more serious than usual.

I could see them clearly, though they couldn't see me. The window was double sided. The Avengers had no idea I was watching them - Fury's idea. It had been a few hours since our talk. Fury had decided that I needed to be introduced to them, since they had been stalking me the weeks before. The only way to get them to trust me would be to change their past judgements.

After a few tense moments of waiting, Fury strode into the Avengers' conference room.

"Percy Jackson has decided to cooperate." The Avengers traded glances with each other.

"I believe his motives are innocent enough, and there will be no reason to convict him of any crimes." At this, everyone except Natasha started in surprise.

"What do you mean his motives are- " Captain America put his fingers in air quotes, "'innocent enough'?"

Fury scowled and rumbled, "I mean exactly that. I don't believe he intends to harm SHIELD or Earth. Therefore, I see no reason to imprison him."

"Well he might not want to hurt us, but his freaky friends might!" Tony Stark said as he waved his hands around in the air. My blood started to boil. If he only knew what we'd done for the world. If only.

Fury glanced subtly at me. I knew he couldn't see me, so I just took a deep breath and tried to sit still.

"Stark. Take a seat and quit acting like a child." Fury said coldly. Stark glared at Fury and opened his mouth to say something, but Hawkeye pushed him back.

"He has a justified point, Fury. Tony and the rest of us just want to know how we can trust this kid? He got past the lie detector machine. We can't trust him." Hawkeye said tersely. I tried not to let that get under my skin. If the roles were reversed, I would say the same thing probably. I just prayed that this wouldn't get in the way of me joining their team. The fact that they already hated me just made my mission significantly harder.

"Are you questioning my judgment, Barton?" Fury raised his eyebrows at the guy, daring him to answer. Hawkeye - Barton - whatever - raised his hands placatingly.

"I'm just saying - " Hawkeye started, but Fury cut him off.

"I believe Perseus Jackson could be an asset to this team. He warned me of an incoming threat - a threat that his world and our world need to work together to defeat. You will treat him with respect." Fury said shortly. The Avengers started to raise their voices in confusion and protest.

"Am I clear?!" Fury asked after a few tense seconds. Grudgingly they nodded. Fury turned around and nodded at me to come in.

I gulped nervously, and flattened down my hair.

Here goes nothing, I thought. The walk towards the door felt like a funeral march. If I screwed this first meeting up, I could blow the whole plan to shambles. I tried to repress that thought as I turned the door knob.

As I pulled the door open, I was greeted by looks of pure confusion and distrust.

Great start Jackson, I thought to myself nervously. Absently, I fingered riptide in my pocket.

"Meet Percy Jackson." Fury told the Avengers as he waved a hand towards me.

"Um… hi." I said awkwardly as I gave them a noncommittal wave.

Come on Jackson. You have to do better than that, I chided myself for being so awkward. The Avengers surveyed me, and I had the odd feeling that I was being x-rayed.

"Thor Odinson. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Perseus." Thor boomed as he stood up and walked towards me. Joyfully, he extended his hand and shook mine. I had to resist the urge to cradle my hand afterwards. That guy was definitely a God with strength like that.

"It's just Percy." I croaked. Thor laughed loudly, and patted me on the back.

"Of course! My apologies Perseus- Percy." Thor grinned and stepped aside.

"Formal introductions can happen later. Jackson will be staying at Stark Towers. You guys will be joining him there - full time." Fury narrowed his eyes at the Avengers when they started to protest, though that didn't stop them from complaining.

Tony was the first to stand up.

"So what Fury? You were just going to invite them over without asking me or notifying me at all?!" Tony yelled.

"Last I checked you have enough room for each Avenger to have their own floor." Fury commented smoothly. Tony's face purpled.

"That doesn't mean you can just command people to live in my house without my consent! Pepper is not going to be happy!" Tony threw his hands up.

Clint was the next to stand up, "So you just expect us to get up and leave our lives? This was not in my job description!"

"Fury we have lives as well. I don't feel comfortable just leaving." Bruce reasoned. Fury scowled.

"You wouldn't have a home if it wasn't for this kid." Fury hissed, "There will not be a discussion on this." The team shared glances that were mixes of curiosity and doubt. I tried not to be offended.

Fury looked purposefully at me, "Jackson, have your friend come get you. Get your stuff and report to Stark tower. Further instructions will be given there." Fury looked pointedly at the Avengers, "And you all will be there as well. No complaints."

Fury turned and left with a swish of his jacket.

The Avengers slumped back dejectedly in their chairs and sighed.

I didn't really know what to do other than say, "Umm… where's the nearest water fountain?"

_

"Percy Jackson! You are not leaving me again!" Annabeth yelled. There were tears welling in her eyes that were dangerously close to spilling over, and her forehead was bandaged from the fight.

"Do you know how hard these past few days were?! What happened to 'never again'? Was it all bullshit?!" Annabeth was hysterical. We were alone in the Poseidon cabin, but I'm sure 100% of the camp could hear us.

I ran my hands through my hair, and rubbed my eyes.

"Annabeth… I don't want to leave you! We need to do this for the camp."

If looks could kill, I would be dead on the spot.

"We've done enough for this camp Percy! Why don't we start thinking of ourselves for once? Just once!" Annabeth cried. She wrapped her arms around herself and turned towards the window. I could feel my heart breaking in two. She was right. The problem was how Fury would react.

I surged forward and gently turned her towards me. The tears began to flow. Tenderly, I began to wipe them away. She looked up to me, her eyes wide and vulnerable. Gods, I hated putting that look on her face.

"I can't do it Percy. I just can't." She whispered. I rested my head on shoulder.

"I can't either." I admitted. She sucked in a breath.

"Then let me come with you!" Annabeth pleaded.

I closed my eyes for a second.

"Okay." I said. Annabeth pulled back.

"Okay? That's it?" Annabeth asked. I just sighed.

"Yeah. I'm so tired, Annabeth. Just hold me for a little while." I whispered in her ear. I felt a million years old, and I just wanted her near me.

Immediately, I could feel the fight leave her body. I kissed her on the forehead, and we pulled some blankets down on the floor. As we laid there, I felt all of my worries melt away. It may sound cheesy, but being with Annabeth tended to do that to me.

It was perfect for a few hours, until someone pounded on the door.

Sorry for the SUPER long break. I had a bunch of exams and an internship and some school trips, so I had no free time. Regardless, I am back now!


End file.
